While Dredd stole the show, Lionsgate was also at the Comic-Con promoting The Possession, a new Sam Raimi-produced horror flick that’s actually based on true events (albiet very minimally).

Bloody’s Evan Dickson was on hand for the panel and afterwards briefly interviewed stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Natasha Calis about the Jewish exorcism flick haunting theaters August 31. Calis, being 11-years-old, didn’t have too much to say…

“Based on a true story, ‘The Possession’ is the terrifying story of how one family must unite in order to survive the wrath of an unspeakable evil. Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) see little cause for alarm when their youngest daughter Em becomes oddly obsessed with an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. But as Em’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, the couple fears the presence of a malevolent force in their midst, only to discover that the box was built to contain a dibbuk, a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Natasha Calis interviewed separately.

JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN

BD: This seems to be largely character driven film.

It is. The term “horror genre” scared the crap out of me at first but it was really interesting stepping into that world. But then I read the script and talked with Ole [Bornedal; director] and we kind of got a handle on it. It’s a film about people with some horribly scary things happening. The story itself drew me in. But it’s scary as hell. It’s The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, it’s not a shaky-cam movie. It’s not found footage ridiculousness. Ole is super talented and Natasha blows the doors off the thing. She’s super talented.

Actually she was one of the main reasons I did the movie. I saw her audition tape and she blew me away. I couldn’t believe the stuff she was doing and the stuff that Ole was getting out of her. And this kind of stuff will keep the viewer on the edge of their seat the entire time.

BD: As a father, was it hard to watch someone so young be put through all of this? Sam Raimi didn’t direct this, but he produced it and he puts his protagonists through a lot.

Yeah. I mean again we have to talk about her amazing performance. You have to wonder where an 11 year old girl can mentally go for all of this. I wasn’t worried about Em [the character], I was worried about Natasha. But she was a typical eleven year old girl between takes and then the camera started rolling and suddenly she was possessed. I’m not sure where she got it from but it was scary as hell. I’d look at Kyra [Sedgewick] and be like, “What the f*ck?!”

NATASHA CALIS

BD: You have to go through quite a lot in this film.

Yes. It’s about this little girl who finds this box which contains malicious demons that infect her. And it’s her family’s job to reunite and save her before it’s too late. I unfortunately get possessed.

BD: What were some of the craziest things you had to do?

Oh gosh, there were a few. I did all my stunts and I had a blast doing them. Probably one of the scariest things was that in one scene they had to dump buckets and buckets of moths on me. Real life moths! It wasn’t very pleasant. I was in this room by myself and it was really dark and I had all of these moths crawling all over me.

BD: This is your first horror movie.

Yes.

BD: Are you a fan of the genre?

Yeah. I haven’t seen a lot of them but I love getting a good scare sometimes and would like to see more. I love the ones that I do see.